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"By Jeff Patterson\nWhen the USGA outlined its plan to roll out the &amp;quot;groove rule&amp;quot; in 2009, changing the specifications on the size of grooves to, in part, limit the amount of spin they could impart on a golf ball from the rough, the intent was for it to be implemented in a staggered fashion. In 2010, the professional tours adopted the rule as a &amp;quot;condition of competition,&amp;quot; and 2014 was set as the year for elite amateur events to follow.\nYet a survey of 34 of 42 major golf associations recently surveyed by Golf Digest said they won&amp;#39;t use the new groove rule in their state and regional tournaments this summer.\nFacebookPinterestloop-grooves-518.jpg\n&amp;quot;The impact of this decision [to wait] is that Kansas Golf Association competitors of all ages and abilities will not be required to purchase new wedges in order to play,&amp;quot; said Casey Old, the association&amp;#39;s director of rules/competitions. Hawaii&amp;#39;s Paul Ogawa shared similar sentiments, citing a fear that enacting the rule could reduce the number of contestants in the state&amp;#39;s competitions.\nIn hockey and lacrosse, referees can quickly inspect players&amp;#39; sticks to see if they comply with the rules. Checking grooves poses more difficulty: The naked eye cannot distinguish between what&amp;#39;s conforming and non-conforming and buying equipment that would accomplish that task would be cost-prohibitive.\n&amp;quot;Enforcing it is going to be the hard step in this process,&amp;quot; said Chris Byrne, of the Idaho Golf Association, whose Men&amp;#39;s Amateur championship nevertheless intended to abide by the groove rule. &amp;quot;We&amp;#39;ll advise players but ultimately it&amp;#39;s their responsibility under Rule 6-1.&amp;quot;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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